Ciphering machine



Aug. 9,1938. R, W, Dom@ 2,125,995

C IPHERING vMAQHINE Filed March s, 1957l 4 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR A ORNEYS Aug. $1938.

R; w. DolDGE CIPHERING MACHINE Filed March :5, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 dEE-: v

l lNvL-:N-roa;

mermlmg@ BY ATTORNEYS ug. 9, .1938. R; w. DOIDGE CIPHERING MACHINE 4 Sheets-She'et 4 Filed March 3, 1937 INVE Patented Aug. 9, 1938 UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFCE CIPHERING MACHINE Robert W. Doidge, Woodside, Long Island, N. Y.

` Application March 3, 1937, Serial No. 128,758

11 Claims.

This invention relates to a substitution letter enciphering and deciphering machine for creating cyphergrams in which the various letters forming the words of the actual message are brought f5 in an irregular sequence into register with the letters of multiple conventional or shuffled alphabets for the encipherment of the message and has for one of its objects to provide such a machine in which the rate of movement of one set of letters l with respect to the other is variably affected by the use of an adjustable toggle whereby a high degree of irregularity between the letters of the original message and the enciphered message s achieved so as to upset the calculation or count of .i letter frequencies used in mathematical deciphering and at the same time the enciphered message may be readily and accurately deciphered by the use of the same or a similar machine in the hands of an authorized addressee operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrically operated enciphering and deciphering machine whereby the typing of a message in conventional language with a manually operated keyboard will cause said message to be written in cipher, and in its enciphered form to be transmitted by wire or radio to a distant point where it will be automatically written in deciphered form as for instance, by the use of said machine, in combination with a teletype machine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of it and by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevation of the same along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of the invention for operation electrically.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of a portion of the device of Y Fig. 3 showing the switching mechanism between the normally Xed member and the rotating member of the invention, with a part cut away.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional elevation along the u line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

4' Fig. 6 is a plan view of the under side of portions of the rotating member and the oscillating mem:- ber of the invention showing the switch connections between them.

,-0 Fig. 7 is a plan view along the line 'l-'l of Fig. 3 with parts cut away.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of the invention in conjunction with teletyping means for enciphering, `transmitting and deciphering a message in type.

I `upon which it is free to rotate. Said gear ll is secured to the vertical shaft 5 between the flanges 6 and 'I attached to said shaft 5.

The upper end of the shaft 5 terminates in the flange 8 to which is secured concentrically with the gear 4 the circular disc 9. substantially in the pla Mounted on said base plate I .and

ne of the disc 9 by means of brackets such as I6 is the semicircular plate I I disposed concentric with the disc 9 and with its inside periphery adjacent the outer periphery of the disc 9.

plate I2 with its inside Slidably supported on said plate Il and concentric therewith is a second semi-circular f margin overlapping for a short distance the outer margin of the disc 9 and with sufcient `space between them for clearance. Said plate I2 is held to plate H by the vertical studs I3 attached to the plate ll which extend through the slots I4 in vided at each end with contact with the plates the plate I2 and are proflanged heads I5 in loose I I and I2 so that the latter may be temporarily moved from its normally Xed position a short circular distance limited by the lengths of the slots I4 upon exerting a pull upon the upright lug I9 formed at one end of the plate I2 and against the tension of the spring attached at one end to the plate II and at the other to the plate I2. the plate will resume When the pull is released its former position. The

upper surface of said plate I2 along its inner margin is divided by radial lines into twenty-six equal spaces each containing a different letter of the alphabet which alphabet is referred to as i3 on Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Journaled in the semi-circular plate i I and the base plate I isa Vertical shaft I9 to the upper end of which is attached th e crank 29, and upon said shaft adjacent the base plate I is mounted the gear 2I in mesh with the gear 4 so that by turning the crank 29 the gear fl will be caused to rotate. in the same plane with with its inner edge adjacent the outer edge of the f disc 9. Said ring 22 is carrying with it the disc 9 Concentrical'ly mounted the disc 9 is a flat ring 22 rotatably supported upon outwardly extending flat metal plates 22 attached to the underside of the about its circumference ring 22 is free to slide.

plate 9 at different points upon which plates the flat 23 is a lever arm pivotally mounted on the shaft between the collars 24 and 29. One end Vof the lever arm is securely attached to the ilat ring 22 by means of a rivet 26 in the end of said arm which is turned over upon the upper surface of said flat ring 22 in the form of a pointer 2l. Said lever arm 23 in the portion thereof on the opposite side of the shaft 5 is formed with a longitudinal slot 23 to receive and guide the pin 25 forming the hinge of the toggle arms 39 and 3 I Thus any movementof the pin 23 transversely of the lever arm 23 caused by actuating the toggle arms 39 and 3 I, will give a rotary motion to the flat ring 22 and the pointer 2l attached thereto while any movement of the pin 29 longitudinal of the lever arm 23 will cause the pin 29 to travel along the slot 2! in which it in free to slide. The said toggle arms 35 and 3l are formed for a distanceV towards their outer ends with a series of perforations 33 to receive the vertical studs 35 and 35 attached to the outer ends of the crank plates 39 and 3l which are adjustably connected to the gears 39 and il@ rotatably mounted in mesh with and driven by the gear 4 as hereafter described.

Arms 4I and 42 are pivotally attached at their inner ends to the shaft 5 beneath the base plate I and extend radially to the outer periphery of said base plate to which they may be locked at any desired degree of angularity with respect to each other by the set screws 43 and 44 which are threaded into the turned over end portions thereof, which are formed at their extremities with pointers 45 and 43. In each of said arms 4I and 42 are slidably positioned in holes therein the vertical pins 41 and 69 extending therethrough and formed at their upper ends with anged heads 49 and 59, and at their lower ends said pins are each .tted with a Cotter-pin held washer such as 5I constituting a seat for the spring 52 held in compression between said washer and the under side of each of the arms 3| and 42. Said pins 41 and 48 form spindles on which the gears 39 and 49 rotate carrying with them the crank plates 36 and 31 which are operatively connected to said gears by the insertion of an extension of each of the studs 34 and 35 on the under side of the crank plates 35 and 3l into perforations in the sides of the gears 39 and 49 as at 53 and by the spring actuated flanged heads 49 and 59 of the pins 47 and 49 by which said crank plates are held tightly in close contact with the upper sides of said gears. Said crank plates are provided towards their inner ends with longitudinal slots 54 and 55 instead of a hole to receive the pins 4"! and 48 so that the eiective length of said crank plates may be selectively shortened by the insertion of the under side extension of the studs 34 and 35 in the perforations 59 and 5'! in the sides of the gears 39 and 49 located nearer the axes of said gears.

Each of the arms 4I and 42 is made in two parts joined together by a tenon 58 formed in the end of one part slidably fitted into a conforming socket 59 in the adjacent end of the other whereby the gears 39 and 49 may be withdrawn out of mesh with the gear 4, and moved into mesh with said gear at different locations, thus changing the angular relation of the pivoted arms 4I and 42, the base plate I being provided with the semicircular slot 69 to permit such pivotal movement of the arms 4I and 42 and the gears 39 and 4U carried thereon. Said slot 99 is also of such width as to permit the use of gears 39 and 49 of different sizes. One of the supporting feet 3 is slidably mounted in said slot so that it may be moved to a position free of interference with the angular adjustment of the arms 4I and 42. Said slot 69 is of su'icient width to permit the gears 39 and 49 to be withdrawn out of mesh with the gear 4 and at the same time not permit the tenons 58 to be fully withdrawn out of the sockets 59. Calibrations 9i along the outside periphery of the base plate I in cooperation with the pointers l5 and 46 denote the exact positions at which the gears 39 and 4I) may be located in mesh with the gear 4.

It will be thus seen that by rotating the gear 4 by turning the crank 29 the gears 39 and 49 will also rotate carrying with them the vertical studs Stand 35 which by engagement with the toggle arms 39 and 3I respectively will through the hinge pin 29 of the toggle moving in the slot 28 impart a pivotally oscillating motion to the lever arm 23 and the flat ring 22 attached thereto. It will be seen also that the extent of the oscillating movement will depend upon and may be greatly varied'by the size of the gears 39 and 49, the angle formed by the arms- 4I and 42, by the effective length of each of the toggle arms 30 and 3| as determined by the particular perforations 33 therein whereby the said toggle arms are respectively connected to the studs 34 and 35, and by the radial distance of the said studs from the axes of the gears 39 and 49 respectively.

The upper surface of the disc 9 along its peripheral margin is divided by short radial lines into a sufcient number of equal spaces containing therein the letters of two alphabets and two space indications arranged consecutively in a circle which alphabets are designated as 62 in Fig. l. The radial dimension of said spaces is slightly less than the width of the overlapping margin of the plate I2. Beneath each of said letters and midway of the width of each space is placed along the circumferential edge of the disc 9 a triangular dot such as 53 with which the pointer 21 on the flat ring I2 may be brought into exact register with any of the letters or divisions of said alphabets 62.

Concentric with and disposed within the circle formed by said alphabets $2 on the disc 9 and radially in line therewith there is another series of circumferentially arranged equal spaces containing the letters of two alphabets 64 arranged consecutively but in the opposite order to those of the alphabets 62. The upper surface of the oscillating at ring 22 likewise is divided for a distance somewhat more than half of its circumference into equal spaces in which are contained the various letters of the alphabet designated in Fig. l, by the numeral 65. The division lines between the letters on each of the alphabets contained on the semi-circular plate I 2, disc 9 and the Vflat ring 22 are of the same angular distance apart from each othel so that the letters of the alphabets 92 and 64 on the plate 9 may be brought into exact register with the letters of the alpha- Vbet I8 on the plate I2 and the letters of the alphabet B5 on the fiat ring 22 respectively. Disc 9 is also marked with four equi-distant points designated in Fig. l by the initials of the four cardinal points of the compass, N, E, S and W, while one of the division lines between the letters on the plate 'I2 is in the form of an arrow B6. The teeth of the gear 4 and the spaces between the teeth of the gears 39 and 49 are numbered as indicated in Fig. l so that gears 39 and 40 may be meshed with gear l in accordance with any predetermined arrangement.

The operation of the machine for enciphering a message is as follows: With the parts in operative relationship, the crank 20 is turned, for ex- 75 ample, to the right until for instance the line marked by the compass point N comes into line with the arrow 66. The gears 39 and 40 are then meshed with the gear 4 and a note made of the numbers of the two teeth on the gear 4 and vthe numbers of the respective spaces between the teeth on the gears 39 and 40 with which they are meshed as well as the calibrated numbers 6I at which the pointers on the ends of both the arms 4I and 42 are set. The machine is then ready to encipher the message. A note is also made of whether the crank plates 36 and 31 are set on the gears 39 and 40 at their long or short radii and the particular perforation on each of the toggle arms 30 and 3l placed over the studs 34 and 35 respectively. The crank 29 is then turned, for example, to the right until the pointer 21 on the oscillating flat ring 22 reaches a center dot 63 of one of the letters of the alphabets 62 and $4 whereupon the letter of the alphabet I8 on the plate I2 immediately opposite the rst letter of the message as contained in the alphabet 64 will be its cipher letter. The crank 20 is again turned in the s'ame direction until the pointer 21 on the flat ring 22 reaches the next center dotof the letters of the alphabet 62 whereupon the letter on the plate I2 immediately opposite the second letter of the message as contained inthe alphabet 64 will be its cipher letter. This operatic-n is repeated until the entire'message has been enciphered.

It will be noted that due to the oscillating movement of the flat ring 22 there will usually be a continual `change in the amount of relative movement between the disc 9 and the fiat ring 22 in order to bring the pointer opposite each succeeding dot 63 on the disc 9 thus changing the relative relationship between the letters of the alphabets 64 on the disc 9 to those of the alphabet I8 so that any regular easily calculable `frequency or xed relationship between the letters of the message and their cipher letters is prevented.

Because of the toggle operation of the oscillating ilat ring 22, it is obvious that when the pointer 21 on the said flat ring 22 comes to a center dot 63 of a letter of the alphabet 62 on the plate 9, it may happen that the letters of the alphabet I8 will not always be in exact line opposite the letters of the alphabet 64 on the disc 9 but may straddle the division line between two adjacent letters. It may be understood between the sender and recipient of the message that in such a case the letter of the alphabet I8 straddling the right hand division line of the letter of the alphabet 64 to be enciphered is its cipher letter. To avoid any misunderstanding in the cipher interpretation, however, the operator will in such a case, by means of the lug I6 pull the plate I2 around to the left a short distance until the division lines of both said alphabets come in line immediately opposite each other whereupon the letters of the two alphabets will then be in register with each other and the cipher letter of the message determined as above described.

The enciphered message thus formed letter by letter may readily be deciphered by the one receiving it who is provided with a duplicate machine and has been advised of the starting position of the disc 9 which in the above example was with the arrow 66 pointing to the letter N on the disc 9 as well as the positions of thearms 4I and 42, the radius of each of the crank plates i 36 and 31, the particular perforations in the toggle arms 30 and 3l used on the studs 34 and 35,

the location of the enmeshment of the gears 39 and 40 with the gear 4 as determined by the tooth and space numbers thereon and the direction of rotation of the crank 20. Such information may be conveyed in any agreed upon form ;5 either communicated separately in advance or it may comprise the first word or words of the cipher message using a particular letter to signify each of the details comprising said information. With these elements of the machine .10 then placed in the same operative relationship and by proceeding as before the successive letters of the original message will appear on the disc 9 immediately opposite their cipher letters on the plate I2.

In the above example of one form of enciphering a message no use was made of the alphabet 65 on the flat ring 22 or of the outer 'circle of alphabets 62 on the disc 9, but they may be used, for instance, by selecting a letter on the flatgo ring 22 instead of the pointer 21, and the steps between enciphering each letter of the message may be determined by bringing any such letter on the flat ring 22 opposite certain letters of the alphabets 62 in any agreed upon sequence. Many 325 other schemes of enciphering a message will readily suggest themselves to anyone using the machine. For instance, the letter on the plate I2 may be used for the actual message and the letters on the disc 9 coming into position oppo-30 site them will constitute their corresponding cipher letters.

Figs. 3 and 9 inclusive are illustrative of the machine adapted for electrical operation which embodies the principal elements hereinabove de- 35 scribed with reference to Figs. land 2 as indicated by the same reference numerals being used to denote similar parts. Instead, however, of the gear 4 and the other cooperating elements being driven by a hand crank, an electric motor 61 ist, used. A worm 68 on the shaft of the motorv drives the gear 69 attached to the shaft 10 and the gear 1I also attached to said shaft 10 drives the gear 4. No alphabetical letters appear on the surface of the stationary, rotating and oscil- 45 lating elements since no visual alignment of the" various points located on said elements is necessary in the enciphering or deciphering operation, said operations being effected by an arrangement of switches whereby electrical circuits are vari-(50 ably established between the keys of a keyboard containing the letters, spaces and characters of a message and either the type bars which will print the varying cipher letters corresponding thereto or the keys of a teletype machine which if; 55 will not only print the cipher letters but transmit them to a distant point where they may be automatically translated into the original letters of the message.

The only visual indications required and pres-,150 ent are those by which the relative position of the movable elements may be determined at the start of the enciphering and deciphering operations which as in the case of the manually operated form of the machine hereinabove de-is scribed, consist of calibrations 6I, the numbers of the teeth of the gear 4, the numbers of the spaces between the teeth of each of the gears 39 and 4|), an arrow 66 on the plate 84, and the initials of the four cardinal points of the com-n70 pass such as N on the disc 12.

Referring to Figs. 3 to 9 inclusive, 12` is a circular disc mounted on the upper end of the shaft 5 and rotated with the gear 4. Said disc is made of non-.conducting material and carrieshlj Cll) zonpits underside adjacent its `periphery a series .of seventy-two equally spaced apart terminal lpoints 13 representing two alphabets, two sets of numbers from 1 to 9 and two spaces. Also locatedon the underside of the disc 12 Vis another series of seventy-two terminal points -14 .circumferentially arranged in radial alignment with but on a shorter radius than the terminal points 13. 'Each of the terminal points 13 is -connected by an insulated wire such as 15 to a `different one of the terminalpoints 19 on the YVopposite semi-circular portion of the disc 12. The terminal points 19 are individually con fnected to 'a series of brass contact plates 19 arranged in a circle directly above them upon the upper side of the disc 12 and separated 4from each other by narrow strips 11 of hard insulating materialsuCh as ber which extend a slight distance above the level of the upper surface of the contact plates 19 with their tops rounded along theirvlength so as to cause the contact ngers 18 to rise and fall as. said separating Vstrips 11 and said contact plates 'i3 rotate beneath them as Vhereinafter described. v

Each of said contact plates 10 is formed with :an upright portion 93 and a horizontal portion -95 extending therefrom and offset a slight distance laterallyso as to come directly above the insulating strip 11.

Concentrically mounted adjacent the outer peripherylof the disc 12 and in the Vsame plane therewith is the oscillating flat ring 19 likewise made out of non-conducting material. Said flat ring 19 is supported by an annular ange portion on disc 12 extending beyond the rperiphery of the disc 12 upon which flange it is free to slide, and is caused to oscillate by means of the lever arm 23 rigidly connected thereto by the angular member |03, said lever arm in turn is operated by the toggle arms and 3| which are driven by the gears 39 and 40 and the crank lplates 38 and 31 attached thereto substantially the same as hereinabove described with respect to the rmachine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. At-

tached to the underside ofthe at ring 19 is a series of thirty-six inwardly extendingspring contactV members arranged thereon in Va semicircle and so disposed as to establish an electri- 'cal connection between them and thirty-six of the terminal points 13 respectively when they move into a position in line with each other as a result of the rotation of the disc 12. Each of vthese spring contact members 89 represents a letter of the alphabet, a number or a space and .is electrically connected by a lead 80a to its proper key such as'A of a keyboard 9|. Supported by brackets such as l0 at a level a short distance above that of the disc 12 and concentric therewith is a xed semi-circular'plate 83. In a depressed portion of the upper'surface of said plate 83 along its inner margin is slidably mounted concentric therewith a` second semicircular plate 84 made out of suitable non-con- Y ducting materials. Said plate `Sli is held to plate 83 by the vertical studs 85 attached Yto "the plate 83 and extending through theslots 831m the plate 84 and provided with flanged headsi''l'in loose contac-t'with the 'plate 83 so that the .latter may be moved a short circularr distance limited by the length of the slots'S'a as hereinafter described. Attached to the upper side of vsaid semi-circular plate 84 area series of'thirty-six spring contact members 88, the freeV end` Vofeach of which terminates" in a rdownwardly extending lcontact linger 18 the bottom of which is' formed VWith the terminal points 13` respectively. reach of -said slots is fixed a narrow strip |00 of v.hard insulating materialV which extends a slight i535 withcblque sides terminating'in a narrow ridge and-adapted to make .a sliding contact with the contact plates 16 on the upper side of the disc 9 :and to be lifted by and ride over the insulating .strips 1'1.

Each of these spring contact members :5 represents za letter of the alphabet, anumber or aspace and is connected to a solenoid 89 adapted Vto operate one of the keys of the keyboard of :a teletype machine 9|.

Mounted directly above each of the said spring contact members .89 and 10 :insulated therefrom, is a second spring contact Vmember 92.

Said spring contact members 89 and 92 are kheld apart by a block of insulating :material 93 so positioned that when ythe contact Afinger 18 rides-:up upon.one of the `insulatinggm; strips 11 the free end of said contact member 92 will be pressed .up into contact with the upper horizontal portion 95 of theV contact plate 18 -andthe under surface of the brass ring 98 con- 98' (Fig. 4) pressing against the outer side of -said ring 96 as it revolves with the disc 12.

Attached to the upper side of the disc 12 along its peripheral margin is an annular at brass plate 99 formed `with seventy-two radial slots along the outer half of its'width. Said slots are so :positioned 'that they are in vertical alignment In distance above the level of the upper surface of said plate 99 and with its top rounded along its length. An electrical connection is constantly maintained between a lead |0| from the motor 61 and Ysaid plate 99 by means of the contactar@ spring |02 pressing against the inner periphery of said plate 99.

|04 is an inwardly extending flat brass spring attached at one end rigidly to the upper side of the angular connecting member |03 and withmg, the other and free end terminating in the contact finger |05 exactly similar in form and construction tothe contact ngers 18. Said spring '|04 is positioned midway between two' of the vcontact members 80 and so disposed that the( contact finger |05 rests upon and makes asliding contact with -the outer and slotted portion of the annularV plate 99 and is lifted by lthe insulating Vstrips'l00 as the contact members 09 come into contact with the terminal points 13. Mount-1,55

ed on the connecting member v|93 directly above the spring l|00 and parallel thereto is a second :flat brass'spring |06, which is insulated from the spring |04 and said member |03 and held a fixed distance above the spring |00 by ther-60 "block |01` of hard insulatingmaterial so that as e on the semiecircular plate 83 as at |09.

I0 is a brake operating upon the shaft of the motor 51 and when vthe motor circuit is open it isheld in a'set condition under the tension of thef=70 `.coil spring but when said circuit is closed said brake is released by the movement of the r armature I2 attached thereto into the energized solenoid I|3 cuit.

which is included in the motor cir- The machine is operated by depressing selectively any of the thirty-six keys of a keyboard each bearing a letter of the alphabet, a number or a space which may be readily understood by reference to the diagrammatic arrangement shown in Fig. 9, in which, for purposes of clarity, there is shown but one key A and the electrically operated arrangement to produce the depression of the key 90 forming one of the keys on the keyboard of a standard teletype machine equipped with a key for each letter of the alphabet, number or space, it being understood that all of the keys of the respective keyboards are of similar construction and are operated in precisely the same manner as the keys A and 90. Said key A consists of a horizontal arm ||4 pivoted at I| 5 and having an upright portion |I6 surmounted with a button II'I upon which is printed a letter of the alphabet, for example the letter B. I I8 is a plate slidably mounted on the side of the upright portion ||6 and loosely held thereto by headed pins passing through oblique slots in the said plate II8. Said plate carries on its forward edge a contact strip |9 insulated from said plate by a strip of insulating material |20. Said Contact strip is of suicient length so that in the downward movement of the upright portion of the key A it will serve to make electrical contact with both of the contact points |2| and |22. Said key is normally held in its upper position as shown in Fig. 9 by the tension of the coil spring |23 attached at one end to the horizontal arm ||4`and at the other to the upper portion of the casing |24. |25 is an upper stop which by engagement with the upper edge of the sliding plate 'I |8 causes the contact strip to be moved to a forward position towards the contact points |2| and |22 when the key is returned from its downward stroke, while |26 is a lower stop which by engagement with the lower edge of the sliding plate ||8 causes the contact strip ||9 at the end of the downward stroke to recede from such position so that it will not make contact with said points |2| and |22 during the up ward movement of the key. |21 is a soft iron armature attached to the lower side of the horizontal arm ||4 of the key A and'adapted to contact with the core |28 of the solenoid |29 at the end of the downward stroke of said key. |30 is a pivoted switch arm which will be forced into contact with the switch point |30 by the horizontal arm I I4 of the key as the key A descends and will be moved out of such contact by thepull of the coil spring |3| when the key ascends.

When the said key A is pressed downward, the contact strip ||9 causes an electric current to ow from the battery |32 across the switch points |2| and |22 and thence to the particular one of the spring contact members on the oscillating flat ring 'i9 with which said key is operatively associated. Assuming that the movable parts of the machine are in such position that the contact members 80 are in contact with terminal points 13, the current will thence flow to one of the outer terminal points 'I3 on the disc 'I2and thence by the connecting wire 15 to one of the inner circle of terminal points 'I4 on the opposite side of the disc I2 and through one of the spring contact members 88 in contact with one of the plates 16 on the upper side of the disc I2 and thence through the solenoid 89 back to the battery |32 whereby the key 90 being one of the keys comprising the keyboard of a teletype machine is pulled down by means of the armature |33 attached to said key and sliding n the hollow core of the solenoid 89, thus printing on the teletype machine the letter of the alphabet associated with said key 90. As the contact strip I9 in the downward movement of the key which carries it is pressed back out of contact with the switch points |2| and |22 by the engagement of the lower stop |26 with the lower edge of the sliding plate IIB, said circuit is broken and the solenoid 89 deenergized with the result that the key of the teletype machine returnsv to its former position under the pull of the coil spring |34. At the same time the horizontal arm IM of the key A presses the pivoted switch arm |30 into contact with switch point |30' and since the flat spring |04 and the Contact spring members 80 on the oscillating flat ring 'i9 are so disposed that when the said contact spring members 80 on the oscillating fiat ring 'I9 are in contact with the terminal points 13, the contact iinger |05 is resting upon one of the insulating strips |00 in the slotted brass plate 99 whereby the flat spring |06 is pressed upwards into contact with the semi-circular bar |08 which is elecelectrically connected by a flexible cable to the motor 61. This closes the motor circuit from the battery |35 and the current flows from said battery through the solenoid 3 releasing the brake ||0, through the motor 61 causing it to drive the rotating disc 'I2 and the oscillating ring 19, across the semi-circular bar |08 and flat spring |06 and through the solenoid |29 which maintains the key A in its down position for a short interval until by the relative movement of the disc I2 and the oscillating ring I9 the contact ringer |05 descends into contact with the brass plate 99 thus breaking the contact between the flat spring |06 and the semi-circular bar |08 and deenergizing the solenoid |29 and permitting the key A to return to its upward position. At the same time, however, the motor circuit itself remains closed with the current flowing from the battery |35 in the same way through the motor, the lead I0! and the spring contact |02 to the brass plate 99 and thence through the contact finger |05 and the at spring |04 back to the battery. The motor will thus continue to operate until the contact finger |05 comes into contact with and is lifted by the next adjacent insulating strip |00, when the circuit will be broken and the motor will stop. This cycle will be repeated by again pressing down the key A (or any other key of the keyboard 8|) and an operating impulse communicated to one of the keys 90 of the keyboard 9| of the teletype machine,

Because of the irregularity of the relative movement between the disc I2 and the oscillating flat ring I9 there will be no constant easy calculable frequency relationship between the keys of the keyboard 8| and those of the keyboard of the teletype machine 9| so that the extent of revolution of the disc 'I2 between successive depressions of the keys of the keyboard 8| will vary in practically every instance depending upon the direction and extent of the oscillating movement imparted to the flat ring 'I9 by the toggle arms 30 and 3| and because such movement is not in step with the rotation of the disc 12, it will sometimes happen that when in the course of the relative movements of the disc 12 and the flat ring 'E9 the contact finger |05 has come to rest upon one of the insulating strips |00 with the spring contact members 80 in contact with the terminal points i3, the contact ngers 'I8 may not be resting `upon the plates l5 but instead may be resting on the insulating strips Tl in whichY case no current will; flow to a solenoid 89 to operate a key of thekeyboard of the teletype machine 9i.4 In suchevent, however, the contact fingers '181: will be inV an uplifted position Vwith the spring contact members 92 pressed upwards against the upper horizontal portions 95 of the contact vplates '16 and the brass-ring 96, thus forming-a circuit whereby the solenoid 98 is energized by the battery |32 when the key A is pressed down and; closes the circuit across contacts i2| and: i22permitting the current to flow from one of the spring contact members 86' to one of the contact plates 76 and thence through the brass ring 9E to one end ofthe Winding ofy the solenoid 98,`the other end of said Winding being connected directly to the battery i3-2. The said solenoid thus energized exerts a downward pull upon the armature |376' attached by a bell-crank i317 tothe semi-circular plate 84 and causes it to be moved a short distance limited by the length of the slotsl 86 but suncient to cause the contact fingers 78' to move from their position on the insulating strips 'Fl and fall into contact with the plates 'l5 thus permitting the current tonow into a solenoid 89"and operate its related key 90, Thereupon the circuit across the'brass ring eti-*andi thel contact plate 16V- is broken by the fall of thecontact fingers 18, and the solenoid Q8y deenergized so that the semi-circular plate 8er-,gradually resumes its former position by reason of the tension of a suitable coil spring E38 exerted upon the armature |36.

To decipher a message thus printed in cipher upon' a'teletype machine iti is only necessaryv to arrange the Vadjustable parts of the machine, or of a duplicate machine, so that they will occupy the same relative positions as at` the start of the ciphering operation andi by suitable switches such as 139 and M0 transpose the connecting leads from the spring contactmembers 8D and 88 respectively sol that the keys of the keyboard 8l are operatively associated with the. spring contact members 88 and the keys ofv the keyboard of the teletypemachine 9| are operatively associated withA the spring contact members each of said spring Contact members 80 and 88 representing the same letter on the keyboards as before. 'Thus by typing the'encipheredmessage on the keyboard 8l the message will be deciphered and Vappear printed in its original form on the teletype machine 9i', which has a cut-oi switch M3 to prevent sending whileV deciphering.

The message as enciphered on the teletype machine 9| may as indicated in Figj8 (in which the enciphering and deciphering machine exclusive of the keyboard 8l and the teletype-machine 9| is referred to -generally byther numerals lill and Ulla) may be by wire or radio electrically transmitted to another teletype receiving machine Sla' located at distantl points which through the operation of its keyboard by they electrically transmitted impulses Will-print the message inf cipher; after which it may be deciphered by means of the `keyboard 82a 'and the yteletype machine Sla through the machine Ila with the connections transposed as above explained for the deciphering operation, or the message may beautomatically deciphered by the electrical impulses constituting the transmitted cipher message being used to operate the keyboard Sla. v

It is obvious that many changes may be ma'de in the machine as above described without departing from the spirit of the invention as de- J ned in the appended claims.

WhatI claim is:`

1; In-` a machine Vof the class described, a stationary member, arotatable member and an oscillatin'g member, means for bringing diierent xed points ,located on each of said members into substantial register with one another in an irregular/sequence, said means including a togglejoint operatively connected to said rotatable memberva'nd saidy oscillating member. Y

2. In a machine of the class described, a stationary member, a rotatable member and an oscillating member, means for bringing different xedipoints located on eachof 'saidmembers into substantial register with one another in an irregular sequence, said means'including a togglejoint provided' with adjustable arms andv operatively connected to said rotatable member and said oscillating member.

3. Ina machine of the class described, a stationary member, a rotatable member 'and' an oscillatingmember, means for rotating said rotatable member, a gear'driven by said rotatable member, a. crank-pin mounted on said driven gear and engaging an arm of a toggle-joint the hinge of which is operatively connected to said oscillating member whereby different fixed'points locatedl on each of saidy members `may be brought into substantial register with one another' in an irregular sequence.

'4. In av machineof the class described, a stationary member, a rotatable member and an csci'llating member, means for rotating said rotatable member, two gears driven by saidl rotatable member, a crank-piny mounted on each of said driven gears and engaging the respective arms of a toggle-joint the hinge of which is operatively connected to `said oscillating member whereby diierent iXed points located on each of saidmembers may bebrought into-substantial register with one another in'an irregular sequence, and mea-ns for varying the distance betweenthe said-two driven gears.

5. In a machineofthe-class described, an adjustable memben'a rotatable member and an oscillating` member, means for bringingdiierent fixed points located vonfeach of said members into register with vone another'in an Virregular sequence, said means including a toggle-joint opertively connected to said rotatable member and said oscillating member.

6; In a machine Yof the class described, an adjustable* member, arotatable member and' an oscillating'member, means for bringing diierent xedfpoints locatedon each of saidmembers'into register withone another inan irregular sequence, said-means including a toggle-joint provideclfwith` adjustable arms and operatively connected tosaidfrotatable member an-d said oscillating member,-

7. In a machine ofY the class described, an adjustable-member, a rotatable member and an oscillating member, means for rotating'said rotatablemember, agear driven by saidlrotatable member, a crank-pinmounted onsaid driven gear and engaging. an arm of a toggle-joint thehinge offwhich is operatively connected to said oscillating member whereby different fixed points 'located on'reacl'r of said members maybe brought into register with'one another in an irregular sesuence.

8. In a machine of the class described,y an adjustable member, a rotatable member and an oscillating member, means for rotating said rotatable member, two gears driven by said rotatablemem'ber, avccrank-pin mounted' on each of saidl driven gears. and engaging the respective l arms of a toggle-joint the hinge of which is operatively connected to said oscillating member whereby different iixed points located on each of said members may be brought into register with one another in an irregular sequence, and means for varying the distance between the said two driven gears.

9. In a machine ci the class described, a rotatable member provided with two sets of terminal points disposed adjacent its periphery, individual conductors connecting terminal points of one set to terminal points of the other set located on the opposite side of said rotatable member, an oscillating member carrying a plurality Yof contactors adapted to make contact with said terminal points of one set, an adjustable member carrying a plurality of contactors adapted to make contact with said terminal points of the other set, key operated means for actuating said rotatable member and bringing said contactors successively in an irregular sequence into contact with various of said terminal points and for passing an electrical current from one of said contactors carried by said oscillating member to one of said contactors carried by said adjustable member.

10. In a machine of the class described, a rotatable member provided with two sets of terminal points disposed adjacent its periphery, individual conductors connecting terminal points of one set to terminal points of the other set located on the opposite side of said rotatable member, an oscillating member carrying a plurality of contactors adapted to make contact with said terminal points of one set, an adjustable member carrying a plurality of contactors adapted to make contact with said terminal points of the other set, key operated means for actuating said rotatable member and bringing said contactors successively in an irregular sequence into Contact with various of said terminal points and for passing an electrical current from one of said contactors carried by said oscillating member to one of said contactors carried by said adjustable member, said means including a toggle-joint operatively connected to said rotatable member and said oscillating member.

l1. In a machine of the class described, a rctatable member provided with two sets of terminal points disposed adjacent its periphery, individual conductors connecting terminal points of one set to terminal points of the other set located on the opposite side of said rotatable member, an oscillating member carrying a plurality of contactors adapted to make Contact with said terminal points of one set, an adjustable member carrying a plurality of contactors adapted to make Contact with said `terminal points of the other set, key operated means for actuating said rotatable member and bringing said contactors successively in an irregular sequence into contact with various of said terminal points and for passing an electrical current from one of said contactors carried by said oscillating member to one of said contactors carried by said adjustable member, said means including a toggle-joint provided with adjustable arms and operatively connected to said rotatable member and said oscillating member.

ROBERT W. DOIDGE. 

